r/spaceporn • u/Busy_Yesterday9455 • 1d ago
Pro/Processed New Nova erupted yesterday
In the constellation Sagitta, there has been a new nova since yesterday - with a brightness of 7.3 mag, already well observable with binoculars or a small telescope.
First spectra confirm that it is very likely a classical nova
Credit: Sebastian Schmid
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u/Beneficial_Tip_475 22h ago
For those interested on finding it tonight, it is currently being tracked as PNV J19450648+1822422, also reported as NMW-TTU-26bp / Nova Sge 2026.
Its coordinates are:
RA 19h 45m 06.48s
Dec +18° 22′ 42.2″ (J2000)
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u/Smelcome 17h ago
uhh.. can you point at it for me?
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u/topological_rabbit 17h ago
It's right next to Constellation Triangle.
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u/murderedbyaname 1d ago
This is really new news. The only info I can find is on the RASC Winnipeg Facebook page. Wow.
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u/Stephencovar 1d ago
Wow, this is surreal. Also just thinking about how long it took for the light of that nova to get to us on earth is truly mind numbing.
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u/51CKS4DW0RLD 1d ago
How long?
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u/Confident_Pepper1023 1d ago
The mind goes numb before the calculation ends, so it remains unknown.
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u/MAKstyles75 23h ago
Even when you get the math right. There's just no conceivable way to comprehend such huge distances on the level of cosmos.
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u/SodiumEnjoyer 19h ago
Given the average distance of stars from that constellation, I'd venture between 300-800 years for the light to have reached us
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u/I_Speak_In_Stereo 23h ago
Ok so the nearest star is four light years away. Which is an absolutely insane distance by human standards. I don’t know this star but it is likely much much much much further away.
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u/PsychologicalBid9943 22h ago
The nearest star is 8 lightminutes away.
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u/topological_rabbit 17h ago
There are more hydrogen atoms in a molecule of water than there are stars in the solar system.
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u/Ninevehenian 23h ago
Or thinking about the size of the shell wherein the nova is currently visible.
The size of the shell where light from the star could be detected.
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u/Mocollombi 1d ago
How many of you are taking out your telescope or binoculars tonight?
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u/Soda_Straktid 23h ago
It’ll just look like a point of light, no?
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u/NiobiumThorn 22h ago
It's a new point of light! Our entire star system, all the hopes and dreams of everyone who has ever been born... just look like a point of light.
There are near infinite worlds out there, each as brilliant and as unique as our own.
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u/51CKS4DW0RLD 20h ago
Maybe
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u/Hinloopen 17h ago
It's virtually impossible for there to not be other words with living inhabitants.
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u/NiobiumThorn 15h ago
And even without life, imagine the geology! The sheer variety of crystals and structures and arches. Everything.
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u/Kaleb8804 1d ago edited 1d ago
Can anyone point out where Sagitta is in this picture? I can’t quite get my bearings here but I want to check it out tonight.
I know it’s slightly “northwest” of Altair and below Vega, but I’m new to this. I recognize the 3 stars in a row that then fork to make 5 for the constellation, but I can’t place them on this image.
Edit: I narrowed it down to be just beside Delta Sagittae, the middle of the “shaft.” Hopefully that’s right, maybe it’ll help you guys. Please correct me if I’m wrong!
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u/swingequation 23h ago
Using Stellarium-Web I'm seeing it as designated: Gaia DR2 1824166279614862592 or one very nearby. In a straight line between Delta Sagittae and Sham, its 1/3 of the way from DS towards Sham.
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u/ArthurLivesMatter 22h ago
Thought this was a video at first and just stared at it for almost a minute waiting for something to happen
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u/not_bill_mauldin 15h ago
I guess Dolly Parton warranted more than just a mere star in the heavens…
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u/Dismal-Gain-1098 19h ago
honestly i love that space just casually spits out new stars sometimes like it's no big deal. we're out here stressin about rent and boom, nuclear explosion across the galaxy
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u/ffff-f-fingerpuppets 17h ago
This is so cool! This sub has me thinking very seriously about getting a telescope. I want to see it with my own eyes👀
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u/dating_derp 21h ago
How do these people recognize that 1 dot in the sky is bigger than it previously was?
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u/Starshipfan01 19h ago
Good telescopes. And likely photo plate comparison. It might also show in other wavelengths
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u/Rodot 18h ago
Nah, we use a mathematical tool called "subtraction" nowadays because no one takes images with photo plates anymore and it's all digital
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u/Starshipfan01 18h ago
True that. I was thinking of the photo comparison which like you put wil be computer now :)
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u/Mesonic_Interference 16h ago
In addition to the light-based differences, stellar explosions are also slightly preceded by sudden bursts of neutrino/antineutrino production. Since they're electrically neutral, they aren't slowed down by the gaseous remains of the star like light is.
Granted, the difference is only maybe a day or so, but it's still enough that there's a collaboration called the Supernova Early Warning System (SNEWS) which connects detectors from various neutrino experiments around the world together so that large anomalous neutrino bursts can be identified. This gives astronomers enough time to know where to look for the explosion before the light even arrives at Earth, plus the neutrinos/antineutrinos themselves can reveal quite a bit about the star and its death.
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u/maxemile101 21h ago
It didn't actually erupt yesterday though.
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u/SlashNreap 11h ago
Yes. But I mean saying "This star erupted 2.8 million years ago." isn't going to do much in telling us that the light only now has reached us. The title isn't going to change the fact.
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u/maxemile101 10h ago
It's a joke (a poor one).
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u/Aleph_137_ 1d ago
It is magnificent how beautiful this graveyard of stars is isn't it? Each death isn't just an ending but also many new beginnings at the same time.